Instagram Guides were a content curation feature that allowed users to compile existing Instagram posts, products, or places into themed, scrollable collections. Introduced in May 2020 and initially limited to wellness content during the COVID-19 pandemic, Guides expanded to all users by November 2020 before being deprecated in June 2023. Understanding what Guides were and why they were removed helps inform how to approach curated content on Instagram today.
How Did Instagram Guides Work?
Instagram Guides functioned as mini blog posts within the Instagram app. Each Guide had a cover image, a title, and a series of entries. Each entry pulled in an existing Instagram post (yours or someone else's public post) and let you add custom commentary text above it.
Guides appeared in a dedicated tab on your profile, separate from your grid, Reels, and tagged content. Viewers scrolled through a Guide vertically, reading your commentary and seeing the referenced posts inline. You could share Guides to Stories or send them via direct message, but they did not appear in the main feed or Explore page.
The creation process was straightforward. You tapped the plus icon on your profile, selected "Guide," chose a format type, picked the posts or products to include, wrote titles and descriptions for each entry, and published. No new media was required since Guides curated existing content.
What Were the Three Types of Instagram Guides?
Instagram offered three distinct Guide formats, each designed for a different curation use case.
Posts Guides let you curate a collection of Instagram feed posts around a theme. A skincare brand might create a Guide titled "Morning Routine for Dry Skin" that pulled together five product posts with explanatory text. A fitness creator might curate their best workout posts into a "Beginner Program" Guide. Posts Guides were the most versatile and widely used format.
Products Guides connected directly to Instagram Shopping. They pulled in products from Instagram Shop listings, making them shoppable collections. A fashion brand could create a "Summer Essentials" Guide linking directly to purchasable items. This format was particularly valuable for e-commerce brands using Instagram as a sales channel.
Places Guides curated location-tagged posts into travel or local recommendation collections. A food blogger could create a "Best Coffee in Austin" Guide by pulling together geotagged posts from different cafes. Travel influencers used Places Guides extensively to create destination recommendations.
Why Did Instagram Remove Guides?
Instagram officially deprecated Guides in June 2023 as part of a broader simplification of the platform's feature set. While Instagram did not provide a detailed explanation, the removal aligned with several strategic shifts.
Low adoption and discoverability were the core issues. Guides were buried in a profile tab that most users never noticed. They did not appear in the main feed, were not surfaced in Explore, and received no algorithmic distribution. According to Later's analysis of Instagram feature usage, Guides saw limited adoption even among power users because the effort of creating them produced minimal reach compared to Reels or carousel posts.
Instagram's pivot to Reels dominated the platform's development priorities from 2021 onward. Engineering resources shifted toward short-form video features, algorithm-driven discovery, and competing with TikTok. Features that did not contribute to watch time or align with the Reels-first strategy were deprioritized.
Carousel expansion also reduced the need for Guides. When Instagram increased carousel limits from 10 to 20 slides in 2024, carousels became a more effective format for curated, multi-part content. Carousels get feed and Explore distribution, generate strong engagement, and serve a similar educational purpose.
What Content Strategies Replace Instagram Guides?
Since Guides are no longer available, several approaches now serve the same curated content purpose with better reach and engagement.
Carousel posts are the closest replacement. A 10 to 20 slide carousel can walk viewers through a curated topic with text, images, and a narrative flow. According to Hootsuite's 2025 Instagram engagement report, carousels achieve an average engagement rate of 3.1% compared to 1.2% for single image posts. They appear in feeds, get shared easily, and are resurfaced by the algorithm days or weeks after publishing.
Stories Highlights serve the permanent curation role that Guides filled on profiles. You can create themed Highlight covers and organize Story content into categories like "Tips," "Products," or "City Guides." Highlights sit prominently on your profile and are often the first thing new visitors tap.
Linkin.bio pages and similar link-in-bio tools let you create curated landing pages that live outside Instagram. Tools like Later's Linkin.bio or Linktree let you organize links by category, effectively creating the same themed collection experience that Guides offered.
Reels series allow you to group related Reels into named collections that viewers can binge-watch. This is especially useful for educational or tutorial content that builds on previous episodes.
How Should Brands Approach Curated Content on Instagram Now?
The lesson from Guides is that discoverability matters more than format. Any content strategy on Instagram should prioritize formats that receive algorithmic distribution.
Invest in carousel posts for educational and curated content. Use a consistent visual template so your carousels are immediately recognizable. Front-load value in the first slide to stop the scroll, and include a clear call to action on the final slide.
Use Highlights strategically as a profile-level navigation system. Think of your Highlight row as a table of contents for your brand. Organize them by topic, product line, or audience need. Keep covers visually consistent and titles short.
For brands producing curated content at scale across multiple Instagram accounts, Conbersa provides the distribution infrastructure to publish carousel posts, Reels, and Stories across many accounts simultaneously. Rather than manually curating content on each individual profile, you can manage coordinated content strategies from a single platform.
What Can We Learn From Instagram Guides?
Guides demonstrated that Instagram users value curated, educational content. The demand for organized, topical collections has not disappeared. It has simply moved to formats with better distribution.
The best practices from the Guides era still apply: organize content thematically and provide context that adds value beyond the original posts. Make curated collections easy to consume in a single sitting. The format has changed from Guides to carousels and Highlights, but the underlying user need for well-organized, topic-focused content remains as strong as ever.